The PC in the Family Room

The PC in the Family Room

Ten years ago, slow dial-up access limited most Internet use to e-mail and text-based web browsing.Now, with over 56 million broadband customers in the United States alone, the experience of watchingvideo online has moved from the computer screen to the television.A wide range of consumer choices have sprung up as a result.Here are just a few ways home computer technology is moving into the family room:

Hardware

Digital video recorders, or DVRs, are really just dedicated processors that do one task: organize and time-shift the viewing experience.Tivo is the most well-known, and later this year Comcast will add Tivo software to their set-top boxes, in addition to their existing DVR service, though it won’t be available locally right away.It’s also possible to use a home PC for the same task, connecting a Mac or a Windows Media Center-equipped system to a home television set.

But that’s a bit complicated for ordinary folks.At this month’s MacWorld conference, CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Apple TV, a set-top box with a 40 GB hard drive that streams movies and other content to digital TVs.It works with the latest generation of big screens, and is equipped with leading edge, high-speed 802.11n wireless.It’s also optimized for movies purchased from Apple’s iTunes Music Store.

Slingbox made a splash in 2005 with a candy bar-shaped unit that lets viewers watch their TV or Tivo anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the company unveiled Slingcatcher, which does the Slingbox trickin reverse, sending video from a computer to a television.It also features Clip+Sling, a video sharing utility sure to excite prospective YouTube impresarios.

Content

Following YouTube’s runaway success, full episodes of prime time shows like CSI, American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy are now online, albeit with must-see commercials.Many of the same programs are offered uninterrupted on iTunes – for a price, typically $1.99 per episode.MSNBC’s web site shows ad-supported highlights from their news shows, as does Fox News; CNN has the ad-free, subscription-based “Pipeline.”

The emerging market is online movies, with NetFlix, which disrupted the video store world, leading the charge.The company, which pioneered “no return date” DVDs, recently started letting customers with certain types of accounts watch up to 18 hours of movies online.Competition may eventually come from long-time rival Blockbuster, but they’re busy trying to cut into the NetFlix rent-by-mail business.

Seattle-base Reel Time Rentals recently launched a movie streaming service; their selection doesn’t rival NetFlix, but it is technically impressive, with surprisingly good sound and picture quality.With a few copyright deals, Reel Time could be a factor in the online rental business.

Post navigation

3 thoughts on “The PC in the Family Room”

Thanks for the mention, Michael. For those who would like to sample, or subscribe, to ReelTime’s DVD quality streaming video service, go to http://www.reeltime.com and experience the latest in online entertainment.

I’m a huge fan of Reeltime and the streaming video quality is astounding. All they need is to add some great content and the subscribers will pour in. I like to think of Reeltime as my personal video server. I can watch what I want, when I want on any of the 2 media center PC’s in my home.

I have gone through your article its good and i have gone another site about software download Once You Download and Install This Powerful Software
You OWN It. There Are Never Other Fees!Cutting Edge TVonPCPro Easily Puts over 1,000 Channels At Your Fingertips… In Minutes….
And Without Nagging Monthly Fees!Watch Digital Satellite TV on your PC

Author

Michael is the primary music and comedy writer for the Hippo, New Hampshire's largest alt-weekly; Michael contributes reviews of current CDs and DVDs, covers concerts large and small, and writes stories about the area music scene. He's a prescient observer of the trends making every word, note and image "local" entertainment. Michael wrote the weekly "Local Rhythms" column for three New Hampshire/Vermont papers: the Eagle Times (Claremont), Connecticut Valley Spectator (Lebanon) and the online Message for the Week (Chester, Vermont) before their abrupt closing on 9 July 2009. He later wrote Local Rhythms for the Compass in Claremont.
Email:mwitthaus@gmail.com